after replacing the o ring on my distributor my prelude won’t start up. I’m relatively new to this, if anyone knows what my issue is help would be really appreciated
You might have accidentally moved the round end of the distributor with the two little "forks" at the end, it needs to go back in the exact same way it came out if I recall correctly.
Did you wire the spark plugs correctly? I'm pretty sure the distributor can't be 180 degrees out-of-time, the forks are slightly offset to eliminate that possibility. If the center plug is connected to the ignition coil, and the firing order is correct, there's no reason why it shouldn't start - assuming the two electrical connectors on the distributor are securely connected to the engine harness. It's possible that you assumed the spark plug wire length correlated to the distributor/cylinder placement, thereby leading you to incorrectly place the wires in the wrong firing order (I almost did that).
If you didn't solve the problem already, make extra sure that the firing order is correct; see the pic above. Also, make sure the ignition coil is connected to the center plug on the distributor - the distributor only distributes the spark, it's reliant on the coil to supply the electricity for it.
I just did this yesterday and thought I flipped the direction of the shaft/fork. Took a second look and turns out I just forgot to plug the two connectors back in.
Would double check the wiring and if still no luck, you probably reversed the direction of the distributor shaft. The outer o-ring I got from honda, part # 30110-pa1-732. While I was at it, I also opened up the distributor and replaced the outer shaft seal because there was a small amount of oil getting through inside of the distributor housing. I pry’d it out and drove the new one in gently with a 16mm bit. That was a dorman kit that had two shaft seals and an outer o-ring. Now I have an extra o-ring prolly wont use it ever.. I like to go with honda seals as much as possible
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